Industry

For more than 40 years local demand fueled Israeli industrial expansion, as the country’s population grew rapidly and the standard of living rose. More recently, world demand for Israeli advanced technologies, software, electronics, and other sophisticated equipment has stimulated industrial growth. Israel’s high status in new technologies is the result of its emphasis on higher education and research and development. The government also assists industrial growth by providing low-rate loans from its development budget. The main limitations experienced by industry are the scarcity of domestic raw materials and sources of energy and the restricted size of the local market.

The economy of Israel is a market economy. As of 2012, Israel ranks 16th among 187 nations on the UN's Human Development Index, which places it in the category of "Very Highly Developed".

The major industrial sectors include high-technology products, metal products, electronic and biomedical equipment, agricultural products, processed foods, chemicals, and transport equipment; the Israeli diamond industry is one of the world's centers for diamond cutting and polishing. Relatively poor in natural resources, Israel depends on imports of petroleum, raw materials, wheat, motor vehicles, uncut diamonds and production inputs, though the country's nearly total reliance on energy imports may change with recent discoveries of large natural gasreserves off its coast. Israel is active in software, telecommunication and semiconductors development. The high concentration of high-tech industries in Israel, which are backed by a strong venture capital industry, gave it the nickname "Silicon Wadi", which is considered second in importance only to its Californian counterpart. Numerous Israeli companies have been acquired by global corporations for its reliable and quality corporate personnel. The country was the destination for Berkshire Hathaway's first investment outside the United States when it purchased ISCAR Metalworking, and the first research and development centers outside the United States for companies including Intel, Microsoft, and Apple. American business magnates and investors Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Donald Trump have each praised Israel's economy and each entrepreneur has invested heavily in numerous Israeli industries that range include real estate, high technology, and manufacturing beyond their traditional business activities and investments back in the United States.Israel is also a major tourist destination, with 3.5 million foreign tourists visiting in 2012.

In September 2010, Israel was invited to join the OECD. Israel has also signed free trade agreements with the European Union, the United States, the European Free Trade Association, Turkey, Mexico, Canada, Jordan, Egypt, and on 18 December 2007, became the first non-Latin-American country to sign a free trade agreement with the Mercosur trade bloc.